Grayson calls Fed adviser 'K Street whore'

Alan Grayson, Florida Democrat, has a reputation for inflammatory rhetoric, but he took it even further when showing his disdain for Federal Reserve senior adviser Linda Robertson by calling her a “K Street whore” in a recent radio interview.

“Here I am the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist, and this lobbyist, this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics,” Mr. Grayson fumed in a segment for a radio program hosted by Alex Jones on the Genesis Communications Network.

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“This K street whore is trying to teach me about economics,” Mr. Jones repeated back to the congressman. “Who was that particular K street whore?”

“I don’t remember her name,” Mr. Grayson said. “This was several months ago, but you can look it up, the lobbyist who was the head lobbyist for Enron was hired with our taxpayer money to try and spin this office effort to try and get transparency at the Federal Reserve.”

Mr. Jones confirmed later in his show, Mr. Grayson was referring to Ms. Robertson. A short and a long form version of the audio clip have been uploaded to YouTube.

Mr. Grayson’s spokesman Todd Jurkowski declined to comment on the exchange when asked by The Washington Times for clarification.

Although Mr. Grayson is a freshman on Capitol Hill he is already well-known for making politically incorrect remarks. He’s called Rush Limbaugh a “has-been hypocrite loser” and accused Republicans of wanting people to “die quickly” on the House floor. When the GOP asked him to apologize he took again to the House floor, this time invoking the Holocaust. “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America,” he said.

And these aren’t even the latest offensive things he’s said. During a television interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball” with Chris Matthews last Friday Mr. Grayson compared former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney to a vampire. “I have trouble listening to what [Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking,” he said. “But my response is this: he’s just angry because the president doesn’t shoot old men in the face. But by the way, when he was done speaking, did he just then turn into a bat and fly away?”

Update: The Republican National Commitee issued a statement about Mr. Grayson’s latest remarks Tuesday afternoon. RNC Co-Chairman Jan Larimer said: “Alan Grayson’s latest comments are disgraceful, inappropriate and disrespectful to women. Last night at the Democratic Party’s South Beach fundraiser, President Obama proudly named Grayson an ‘outstanding member of Congress.’ Americans across Florida and the entire nation can agree that Grayson’s comments are not characteristic of an ‘outstanding member of Congress.’ President Obama should immediately rescind his accolades and condemn Grayson’s shameful comments, and Congressman Grayson should issue an apology.”

Update: Mr. Grayson apologized Tuesday evening. “I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke,” he said in a statement. “I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women. This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize.”

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About the Author

Amanda Carpenter writes the daily “Hot Button” column for The Washington Times. She was formerly a national political reporter for Townhall.com, the leading online publication for news, opinion and talk. Prior to that, she was a reporter for Human Events. Ms. Carpenter has made numerous media appearances that include segments on the Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC and other ...